Irish Coffee: Jim Calhoun and Ray Allen team up again

So, Webster Bank’s new spokesman is naturally Ray Allen[2], because when you think money you think Ray Allen, right? Anywho, this is the new commercial. It’s pretty funny — much better than the Dunkin’ Donuts ad he does — so I figured I’d share it.

The chest bump and paper swat outtakes at the end are especially hilarious. And so is this from UConn head coach Jim Calhoun[3]: “Everybody talked about this Ray, Roy, Rip Allen. I didn’t know his name, but boy could he play.”

A couple other interesting promotions from the Celtics: Shaquille O’Neal[4]donated[5] a pair of shoes to the Boston Children’s Museum’s Big & Little exhibit; adidas is giving fans a chance to design shoes[6] inspired by Celtics history; and Marvel created[7] Hulk-inspired Celtics gear.

In case you haven’t heard yet, Allen is one 3-pointer away from tying Reggie Miller‘s all-time career record of 2,560 3-pointers and two away from breaking it. And Miller is making every attempt to bask in Allen’s limelight. Of course, the fact that he’ll be a part of Thursday night’s TNT broadcasting crew makes that easier for him.

In a conference call[9] about TNT’s NBA All-Star Game coverage, Miller discussed the potential of Allen breaking the record in his presence against the Lakers:

“We had this game on the schedule for Steve [Kerr] and I to call months ago. Now who would’ve thought that it would come down to Ray Allen being able to tie and break the record in our presence? To me, there is such a thing as a ‘basketball God.'” …

“I am excited. This is going to be wonderful. It’s not very often that you get to see history being made. We all know Ray very well. He’s a very humble guy, a family man. I’m excited to be a part of history being made.”

If you’ll remember, Celtics head coach Doc Rivers[10]told[11] Dennis & Callahan last week that he was buying Miller’s claim that he doesn’t mind Allen breaking his record:

‘No, I don’t believe him, either. I’m going to call ‘bull’ on that one with Reggie.’

The same Indianapolis Star story that relayed Miller’s conference call conversation also recalled this quote from Allen in December 2009:

“Once you retire, you can’t do anything because your stats are cemented. It’s not like ‘Mr. 3000.’ You can’t come back and get up one more 3. That’s what it’s all about, trying to do everything I can to stay in great shape and prepare for every shot that may come my way. I think records are really about longevity.”

Classic “Mr. 3000[12]” reference, by the way. What advice would the character Big Horse Borelli from that movie give to Miller, you say? “You know, a lot of people said that Reggie only looked out for himself, that he wasn’t a team player. But I’m here to tell you, if you get 2,560 3’s, you don’t have to be a team player. If you have a lifetime .395 3-point percentage, you don’t have to be a good guy. If you lead the league in free-throw shooting for five years, you can be the biggest jerk in the world!”

In his latest blog post[14] on shoe company Anta’s website, Kevin Garnett did not address the disparaging comments made by Spike Lee, Phil Jackson[15] and Eduardo Najera — who, I assume, he considers nobodies — but he did discuss the injuries to teammates Marquis Daniels[16] and Semih Erden, his selection to the All-Star Game and this week in Celtics games. The highlights:

On Marquis Daniels:“We had a good win against Orlando on Sunday afternoon, but watching Marquis get hurt was tough. He lost feeling in his limbs and laid there motionless! Felt a ton of emotions and wanted to help him, but couldn’t. He’s feeling better now, but it is serious. Thoughts go out to my man!”

On Semih Erden:“Semih has also had a groin pull since training camp, so he’s taking some time off as well. Our numbers are low, but we’ll get through it.”

On Super Bowl[17] XLV:“After the win, we headed to Charlotte and caught the last five minutes of the Super Bowl. Was a good game, and Aaron Rodgers[18] played extremely well. Congrats to them.”

On the Bobcats:“Charlotte was not pretty. We seemed to have been in and out of the game all night. It’s tough to lose to a team that you know you should beat. We gotta figure it out and get these back-to-backs done. Coach [Doc Rivers] let us know that most of our losses are on the back-to-backs! I believe in our guys and know we’ll get it together.”

On the Lakers and Heat:“Should be tough games.”

On the All-Star Game:“I’ll be going. Feel really blessed that the coaches voted me in. Going to L.A. with the coaches, [Rajon] Rondo, Ray [Allen] and Paul [Pierce]. I remember writing about this before, but excited to go with the guys.”

MARQUIS DANIELS’ AGENT: ‘HE’S FRUSTRATED’

Colleague Paul Flannery of WEEI.com provides the best breakdown[19] you’ll find of the Marquis Daniels situation, from in-house to trade to buy-out options as Daniels sits out at least a month or two if not more. Flannery also caught up with Daniels’ agent, Mark Bartelstein, who provided this insight:

“He’s in good spirits, all things considered. He’s frustrated because he wants to play, but he’s a lot better off than he was on Sunday.” …

“It’s going to be a process. We’re going to gather as much medical information as we can.”

L.A. CONFIDENTIAL: ‘ZERO’ CHANCE OF CARMELO ANTHONY TRADE

After rumors swirled throughout the NBA world on Tuesday afternoon that the Lakers and Nuggets were discussing a deal that send Carmelo Anthony to Los Angeles in exchange for Andrew Bynum[20], Los Angeles Times writer Mark Bresnahan debunked them[21] swiftly: “There were denials from the start, team officials saying off the record they wouldn’t include Andrew Bynum in a deal for Anthony, sticking with a declaration to The Times last week that there was ‘zero’ chance they would acquire Anthony before the Feb. 24 trade deadline.”

From that same L.A. Times piece, the Lakers expressed their feelings about coming to Boston for Thursday’s showdown against the Celtics:

Pau Gasol[22]: “They got everybody going, pretty much, on their team. We’re going to have to be really physical, really solid, really aggressive in order to be successful in Boston.”

Ron Artest[23]: “The atmosphere’s going to be pretty crazy. Those fans will be pretty upset from last year’s [Game 7]. You know you’re alive when you’re playing in front of fans like that.”

According to[25] Wicked Local Walpole, a 23-year-old Walpole woman named Kayla Cowell — donning a white Celtics jersey at the time — stole an Apple MacBook and Sony Headphones from a disc jockey as well as a cell phone from a patron at the Draft Bar. When she was apprehended by police in Brighton, she said, “I just took it to be nice. I was going to give it back.’

That’s a genius excuse. I think Rajon Rondo should say that to everybody he steals from on the basketball court.

(Have a question, concern or conception for tomorrow’s Irish Coffee or a future mailbag? Send an e-mail tobrohrbach@weei.com[26] or a Twitter message to @brohrbach[27].)